Treating Knee Injuries with Solomon’s Seal

There can be numerous forms of knee injuries that affect joints, tendons, ligaments, bursae and synovial fluids, bones, etc. Pain, inflammation, soreness and tenderness, swelling and heat are usual signs of a knee injury. One of the most common knee injury is that called “Runner’s Knee.” Because treatment and healing can be successfully self-administered, this frequent form of knee discomfort responds well to the use of herbal tinctures, salves, liniments and the like, instead of intervention using prescription medications that can disrupt other body systems. This article will help you to assess your knee discomfort, learn about your knee parts, and determine therapeutic strategies, including the use of Solomon’s Seal.

6 Foods That Are Killing Your Bones!

Did you know that some foods actually leach minerals, such as Calcium, right out of the bone, including cartilage and joint areas? Some foods also block the bone’s ability to regenerate and strengthen itself. The foods you eat should be providing the nutrients to build strong bones — keeping them viable, including their associated cartilage, tendons, ligaments, tendons, bursae, synovial fluid, muscles, nerves, etc. — not sap them or kill them off!

It doesn’t matter what form of wellness intervention you engage in — medications, herbal formulas (tinctures, homeopathics, supplements, and the like), exercise, etc. — certain foods can work against your body’s ability to heal itself. They often leach nutrients out of your body’s systems, or block the body’s ability to store and use them.

If you have issues related to bones, joints, connective tissues, and the like — if these issues show themselves as arthritis, joint pain, osteoarthritis, cartilage degeneration, aching, stiffness, etc. — then you need to look at ways that your diet can aid you, not make things worse! It may be necessary to minimize ingestion of certain foods.

Cortesia Quick Relief Liniment (with Solomon’s Seal): Its Use and Effectiveness

An herbal liniment is a medicinal liquid formulated with herbs in a base of rubbing alcohol, Witch Hazel, or oil. It is firmly rubbed into the skin to provide temporary, fast-acting pain relief for sore and inflamed joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. It may also alleviate some of the discomfort of arthritis, bursitis, circulation problems, old injuries, rheumatism, sprains, strains, bumps, and bruises.

Liniments are extremely practical, having been used for thousands of years, often giving necessary short-term relief from pain, discomfort and stiffness within minutes. For those with joint health issues (stiffness, inflammation, pain), an effective liniment is invaluable. Athletes and outdoor recreation enthusiasts, from runners to gardeners, often use a liniment before and after exercise to keep muscles and joints loose and flexible. It goes without saying: Every medicine chest should have a bottle of liniment.

We have taken great care in formulating our Cortesia Quick Relief Liniment. The selected organic herbs are known for their individual and synergistic therapeutic value. They are steeped in a Witch Hazel and Isopropyl Alcohol base for many weeks for optimal distillation of each herb’s chemical constituents. We hand-bottle each liniment on demand from the steeping menstrum base to ensure highest and freshest therapeutic qualities.

Although liniments are not designed to provide long-term relief from chronic pain or discomfort, they work especially well when combined with herbal salves and/or tinctures, which are more lasting over time in their healing effects. We discuss this healing strategy thoroughly below.

Using an Herbal Liniment: Key Part of a 3-Step Healing Strategy

An herbal liniment (such as our Cortesia Quick Relief Liniment) is a medicinal liquid of herbs in a base or “carrier” of rubbing alcohol, Witch Hazel, or oil that is firmly rubbed into the skin to provide temporary, fast-acting pain relief and increased blood circulation. A liniment can be used alone, however, its effectiveness is increased when part of a 3-Step Healing Strategy using an accompanying topical salve and tincture. A good therapeutic liniment is effective for the following types of conditions:

• Sore and inflamed joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments
• Alleviation of the discomfort of arthritis, bursitis, and rheumatism
• Circulation problems (increases blood circulation in affected area)
• Sprains, strains, and bruises
• Injuries or discomforts from sports, gardening, work, or recreational activities associated with the above symptoms
• Other conditions that may benefit from short-term relief

Liniments are one of the oldest known natural medicinal interventions, fully using the therapeutic qualities of certain plants. They have been used for thousands of years, applied externally on humans and animals alike. Horse trainers use liniments extensively to relieve leg strains and injuries unique to horses. Athletes and sports enthusiasts often find quick relief by using a liniment. (For example, rub in a liniment briskly before and after your morning or afternoon run or strenuous workout). Similarly, people suffering from arthritis or bursitis greatly benefit from the short-term relief that a liniment provides.

Although liniments are not designed to provide long-term relief from chronic pain or discomfort, they work especially well when combined with herbal salves and/or tinctures, which are more lasting over time in their healing effects. We discuss this healing strategy thoroughly below. Massage will also enhance the effects of a liniment.

Joint Pain and Injury — How Solomon’s Seal May Help

Joint pain and discomfort is one of the most common health concerns today. Millions of dollars per year are spent on treatment, medications and over-the-counter interventions. There are numerous causes for joint issues — disease, accident, stress-injuries from overexertion, environmental, even nutrition and diet.

Most people have little knowledge about how their joints work, nor do they understand the mechanism behind joint pain and inflammation. This article offers a basic overview of joints, including joint pain and inflammation. It also clarifies how an herb like Solomon’s Seal works to treat joint issues and to optimize their health.

How Joints Work

Imagine your body without joints — remove all joints from toes, ankles, knees, hips, fingers, wrists, elbows, shoulders, and neck. The result is that you would simply be a stiff stick figure that could not bend, rotate, properly walk, run, sit, or function in most human ways. To understand the mystery of joints is really quite simple: a joint is formed when two bones meet. Similarly, the mechanics of joint function is simple: ligaments, tendons, bursae, cartilage and synovium all work together as a system to seamlessly give flexibility. We can call this the joint system. It is this joint system that gives us movement and range of motion.

There are three categories of joints classified by the amount of movement they allow: fibrous joints which allow no movement, cartilaginous joints which allow limited movement (as in spine and ribs), and synovial joints which are free-moving (the most common type of joint in the body).

All joint issues are a result of a breakdown or dysfunction of one or multiple parts of the joint system that prevent basic movement. This article will help you know your joint system, and especially the unique way in which the herb Solomon’s Seal can help with joint issues.

How Solomon’s Seal Works to Heal You

The medicinal use of the root of the herb Solomon’s Seal (polygonatum biflorum or multiflorum) dates back over 3,500 years ago to the era of King Solomon. He was so impressed by the plant’s diverse healing qualities that he proclaimed it a gift from God, and thus named it after himself. Its more “modern day” acknowledgement was by Dioscorides and Pliny in the 1st Century, A.D. Asian medicine considers it one of the ten top healing plants. Ancient Europeans and North American Indians considered it a medicinal “workhorse” of wide value. Today, there is increasing interest in the therapeutic values of the plant.

Solomon's Seal (polygonatum biflorum)

Just a partial list of its uses demonstrates Solomon’s Seal’s wide healing potential:

• Rebuilds damaged cartilage & connecting tissue
• Reduces inflammation and speeds healing of bruises, wounds and skin irritations
• Hastens recovery from bone injuries (broken, stressed, osteoarthritis) and associated connective tissues, including arthritis
• Produces synovial fluid to reduce grinding in joints
• Tightens or loosens (as needed) tendons, ligaments, joints & attachments associated with repetitive stress, injury & inflammation
• Soothes gastrointestinal inflammation and injuries
• Loosens mucous in lungs
• Regulates blood pressure
• Treats and relieves women’s issues

The question remains, however, what makes Solomon’s Seal work so well? What are its constituents that, when processed into a tincture, salve, tea or liniment, or when combined with those of another herb, empower its healing qualities?

Treating Dance Injuries of the Foot & Ankle with Solomon’s Seal

There are a number of common dance injuries, but they can be categorized into five basic groups: injuries of the foot/ankle, knee, hamstring, hip, and back. In this article, I will discuss injuries of the foot and ankle. According to Podiatry Today (http://www.podiatrytoday.com/article/3468), approximately 50% of the dance injuries are foot and ankle injuries, and most of these are due to overuse, as opposed to traumatic causes. This is because of the many repetitive movements in dance and the long hours spent in class and/or rehearsals. Ankle and foot injuries require immediate and ongoing attention, and continuing to dance with such injuries is not advised. Treatment typically includes the use of ice, rest, compression and elevation (RICE), and possibly immobilization. In some cases, daily stretching and an anti-inflammatory may also be prescribed. In more severe cases, steroids and even surgery may be recommended and extensive rehabilitation required.

Benefits of Solomon’s Seal Herbal Tincture & Salve

There is, however, an additional intervention that can prove most effective with acute or chronic ankle and foot injuries, or even be used preventively. Solomon’s Seal is an herb long known for its ability to strengthen, lubricate, and nourish tendons, ligaments, attachments and joints, tightening them if they are too loose and loosening them if they are too tight. Keep in mind that ligaments are tissues that connect bones to other bones, while a tendon is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue that most often connects muscle to bone. Healthy tendons and ligaments are able to withstand tension, but if they are too tight or too loose, injuries can result.

Solomon’s Seal: Increased Healing Benefits with 7 Key Herbs

Note: Much of the content of this article was carefully researched and formulated by the creator of the line of Cortesia Solomon’s Seal tinctures, Tricia Clark-McDowell

We’ve written extensively about the effectiveness of Solomon’s Seal in connection with damaged tendons, ligaments, muscles, bones, inflammation, and more. It is possible, however, to hone in on very specific physical conditions with advanced Solomons’s Seal formulas that work synergistically to foster even deeper healing.

Consequently, the powerful healing properties are enhanced when Solomon’s Seal is carefully combined with one or more seven key herbs to address specific issues, such as arthritis, bone repair and bone building, cartilage and tissue damage, deep pain and tension, and women’s issues related to menopause and PMS.

This article guides you specifically about how we have combined Solomon’s Seal with one or more of the following powerful seven herbs to create specific formulas:

• Agrimony
• Blue Vervain
• Boneset
• Gravel Root
• Horsetail
• Mullein
• Pleurisy Root

First, let’s review the numerous healing benefits and suggested uses for regular Solomon’s Seal itself:

10 Surefire Ways to Increase Pain and Reduce Healing

Pain and discomfort for most people are constant life companions. We obtain diseases or experience an injury. We age, overuse our body, don’t take care of our body. As a result, pain can interfere with daily life. It can be sharp and immediate, called acute pain, or more long-term, called chronic. In any case, pain demands us to manage it in some way so as to minimize its negative impact.

Ask yourself this question about pain: Do I take actions that control my pain or do some of my habits and routines actually increase my pain level?

Whether your pain is acute or chronic, there are surefire ways to increase your pain, thereby working absolutely contrary to the desired effect of reducing pain and increasing healing. This article takes a different approach to managing your pain. It offers ten tried-and-true ways to stay miserable with pain.

Treating Bursitis with Solomon’s Seal

WHAT IS BURSITIS?

Bursitis is the inflammation or irritation of the bursa. The bursa is a sac filled with lubricating fluid, located between tissues such as bone, muscle, tendons, and skin, that decreases rubbing, friction, and irritation.

Solomon’s Seal tincture is especially effective in treating bursitis, as discussed thoroughly later in this article. Its properties reduce inflammation of affected tissues, restore fluids to bursa and synovial glands, increases lubrication in joint areas, especially those affected by osteoarthritis, and helps to decalcify joints. Its known plasticity effect helps to restore scar tissue to near original condition, thereby aiding tendons, ligaments and muscles.

If you suffer from bursitis, this educational article discusses causes, signs and symptoms, prevention, self-care (most bursitis can be treated without invasive medical intervention or drugs), and finally, alternative treatment methods, including the use of Solomon’s Seal.

Healing Texting, Thumb and Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSI) with Solomon’s Seal: Part 1

The proliferation and use of PDAs (wireless personal digital assistants) such as Blackberries, and the significant increase in time spent at computer keyboards or engaging in video gaming has created a whole new generation of people of all ages experiencing hand and finger injury, pain and discomfort. More and more, people are depending on these devices to stay in touch with friends and family. However, an increasing number are beginning to pay the price for such ready access to the world.

Popularly called “Blackberry Thumb”, or “teen texting tendonitis,” this Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI) occurs because these devices rely almost solely on the use of your thumbs (not all of your fingers) for typing. Any device that relies on the thumbs for typing can cause this type of injury because the thumbs simply weren’t designed for such use. Additionally, there are also other stress injuries reported — wrist, forearm, shoulder, upper back and neck — as a result of constant texting.